


after-match

by creative_introvert



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: F/F, Genderbending, My First AO3 Post, My First Fanfic, Struggling, andrew cares, andrew's pov, during The King's Men, fight, this was supposed to be angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 15:36:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17963288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creative_introvert/pseuds/creative_introvert
Summary: When Natalie (Neil) is abducted by we know who in the King's Men, Andrea (Andrew) is having a little breakdown.





	after-match

Her hands were shaking when she flipped open the phone. Her breath shallow while she was searching through the messages. She clicked on a name and clenched her jaw. Her eyes scanned the incoming messages and it took her only a second to fully understand what that was. And it wasn't a typical conversation, no. Those were numbers from 44 to 0, one number per day. And today zero was sent.

This was a Countdown.

Andrea squeezed the phone as she took a deep breath. She felt... empty. She should have been sad, furious, angry, she should have been making a plan on how to get _her_ back. She should have, but how was she supposed to do it when all she had was this phone? Andrea looked aside at a duffel bag, her precious bag. That was, besides the numbers, a confirmation that something, indeed, had happened. Andrea laughed quietly and put her free hand to mouth. She shivered and felt her eyes starting to water.

"Well... at least she didn't run away," Nicole said, her voice loud and clear.  
"I'm not sure if _being abducted_ is better than disappearing, Nicole," Aurelia snarled.

Then everyone stayed silent giving Andrea some space. She thought how stupid she was. Of course, something like that would have happened. She should have kept her guard and not let anyone in. Just like she had been doing since Cass Spear, who had taken her in and showed her what the word 'family' means, died.

But, at the same time, how could she when Natalie Josten kept coming over looking at her intensively with those beautiful blue eyes as if she was a mystery that Natalie had to solve? Or when Natalie was constantly proving that she had been interesting enough to pay her attention? Or when Andrea kissed her on the roof? She could have pulled back immediately but she didn't. She could have said 'no' when she heard Natalie asking for permission to do it again, but _again_ she didn't. She lost herself somewhere between the questions and the kisses but she didn't regret. She never did because regret was something burdensome. But now, when Natalie was gone, she felt regret. It hit her with power and, for once, she wished she hadn't met this blue-eyed girl.

She fell to her knees and hung her head low, letting the phone drop. Then, she laid her fingers on the wristbands and felt the knives under them. It calmed her a bit and helped her concentrate on the present situation. Andrea took a deep breath in and out and in and out and over again until the pounding in her head eased a little bit.

"Maybe we should go to the police," someone offered, probably Daniel. It worked like a trigger and everyone started expressing their ideas on how to get Natalie back. "We should do this," and "We should do that," were strangely resounding after the quiet. When Andrea looked back she saw that the only one who wasn't talking was Keva. She was surely concerned about the situation but it looked like mentally she was somewhere else, biting her lips and frowning. "You know something," Andrea said and it wasn't a question. Keva looked at her startled and opened her mouth only to close them after a couple of seconds. Andrea saw drops of sweat started forming on her forehead when the girl turned her head to the side.

"I... I may know... where she is," she said, her voice low-key. In a second Andrea was on her feet and she closed the distance between them in a few steps. In the next, she looked Keva straight in the eyes and waited for continuation. When Keva stuttered, rage boiled inside Andrea. At first, she thought they were at a loss because they didn't have any information, but now? With Keva they could work this out. With Keva _Andrea_ could work this out. 

She decided she was going to give Keva a chance to say something. But when the girl didn't say a word, shooting her a glance full of pain instead, Andrea counted to three under her breath and, then, attacked. Her fingers found their way around Keva's throat and tightened forcefully. "Where is she?" she demanded. Keva's legs gave away but she was held by Andrea's strong hands. The strangled girl tried to speak but only a muffled sound came out. Her face turned grey-blue, bruises already started forming on the neck, an odd contrast to Andrea's red face and furious hazel eyes. "Where is she?" Andrea repeated and, suddenly, felt a pair of hands pulling on her waist and another one on her arms. That doesn't feel good, Andrea thought and a memory slashed through her mind. A memory of her foster mother and her hands touching her... Not now! Andrea shook her head and with it, she got rid of the unwanted flashback, coming back to reality.

Keva couldn't hold on any longer so she fell to the ground and dragged the blonde with her. Thanks to Andrea's reflex, she hit the ground with knees and still kept smothering Keva who was at the edge of losing consciousness. "WHERE IS SHE!" Andrea raged.

Abruptly, Andrea saw a fist coming her way and, then, felt an intense pain under her left eye. For a second, she saw only naught and comprehended that the hit could have had fatal consequences. She loosened her grip and let go and the arms on her body wandered off. She straightened and clenched her fists, thoughts running through her head.

"Jeez," sighed Mattie, "I forgot how strong you were."

"Yeah," Daniel admitted, sighing. "Next time try using words. They can do miracles, you know? And no-one gets hurt" he remarked. Soon, he turned to help Keva get to her feet and grasped her shoulders to keep her steady. Next, he checked her gorge searching for any major injuries besides the bruises and, fortunately, he found none.

Andrea turned around and headed up to the duffel bag. She got hold of the string and caressed the material. She brought back their first meeting. Natalie running in the lounge, this duffel bag in her embrace like it was the most significant thing in her life, and Andrea waiting for her with an Exy's racket in her hand. That was when she had been taking the medicines that got her high. At that moment she believed that Natalie was just another ordinary person with trivial problems. How wrong she had been.

Now, Andrea unzipped the bag and looked inside. She glanced at the gear, the jersey jacket with number 10 on the back and even her stupid bandana. She snorted when she recalled the way Natalie put the bandana on her auburn hair and how the light made them look goldish. How the jersey jacket seemed too big on her as if she had been drowning in it. How she moved on the court in the gear always ready to fight for the next goal.

Andrea felt someone's presence beside her. "Keva is ready to reveal the possible stay of Natalie if you're done crying in the corner," Al reported, sarcastically. Andrea took a look at him. He was standing with crossed arms and tilted head, his expression brooding. "I hope you calmed down enough not to cause any other problems. Remember, we're friends, not enemies," he pointed out and headed back to the rest of the team.

Blonde sighed and made her way to join them, putting on an unreadable expression. She stopped beside Nicole and rested her gaze on Keva's face. She was obviously nervous as she was fidgeting under everyone's stares. She took a shaky breath and whispered in a hoarse voice, "Listen, before I tell you where Natalie may be, I need to tell you the whole story." So she explained Natalie's origin, the connection between the Moriyama's and Wesninski's family. She recalled their first meeting when they had been children. She confessed everything, making pauses here and there due to the swollen throat and problems with catching her breath. Everyone reacted predictably, gasping, shaking their heads, nodding sadly with a pout on their faces.

Only Andrea listened to an explanation without batting an eye, and, after her attack on Keva, this could be concerning. She saw how others looked at her, how Nicole bit her lips while casting her glance.

As soon as the story ended, Coach Wymack stated. "If their families are even half so well-known criminals, there's a high chance the federals will be after them." She scratched her neck and concluded. "Now, all we got to do is wait and hope for the best. Maybe we'll get some information if Natalie mentions us."

So they did. They waited for information, even when they knew they could go back home with nothing, trying to keep as cool as possible. They waited when they left the parking and checked in a motel. They waited when they got accommodated in the rooms. Everyone took their turn in the bathroom and headed back to the beds. They thought it would hard to sleep after a day like this, but they'd played an exhausting match before, so once their heads touched the pillows, they drifted off. Everyone but Andrea.

She walked out of the room and onto a balcony. Leaning on the railing, she reached into her pocket and took out a lighter and cigarettes. She put one cigarette between her lips, then lighted it in one swift motion, hiding the rest. As she dragged on a cig, she made up her mind she would not go to sleep that night. If anything was to happen, she would be the first to know. She exhaled slowly and looked at the road.

She would wait.


End file.
